Bulldogs Look for Seventh Ivy League Title

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -
The Yale women's golf team has been building all season for this weekend. When the Bulldogs step on the course at the Atlantic City Country Club to compete for the 13th Ivy League Championship, they will be competing for their seventh Ivy League Championship and a bid to the NCAA Championships.

The Atlantic City Country Club is no stranger to big events. Founded in 1897, it is said that the Atlantic City Country Club was the "Birthplace of the Birdie" and the site at which the term "Eagle" was coined. The course has hosted six USGA events and names such as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Sammy Snead, Bob Hope and Arnold Palmer have all played the course. In 2008, the course was listed on GOLF Magazine's "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" rankings and it has also been named in the "Top 100 Classic Golf Courses" in the country. The beauty of the course lies just beyond its greens in the 170 acres of coastal setting. But Yale players will have little time for sightseeing as they will have to deal with fast, firm, and undulating greens.

In terms of rankings, the Bulldogs are near the top. The Bulldogs are ranked 96th, bettered only by Harvard in 70th and Princeton in 74th. The rest of the Ivy League trails them at a distance. Brown and Dartmouth are ranked 205th and 213th, respectively, while Columbia and Penn come the closest in 115th and 186th, respectively.

The Bulldogs have had a strong season from start to finish. They opened the season with freshman Callie Kemmer winning the Nittany Lion Invitational at Penn State. Since then, the team has experienced much success winning both the Xavier Invitational and the Winthrop Intercollegiate. This spring the Bulldogs have not finished worse than fifth and are coming off a tie for third at the ROAR-EE Invitational. If the ROAR-EE is any indication, we are in for an exciting championship. Princeton and Harvard finished first and second at the ROAR-EE, respectively, but the Bulldogs in third had one bad round which set them back.

The Bulldogs will also have history on their side. The Bulldogs have a 46 percent winning percentage at the Ivy League Championships. Until two years ago, no team other than Yale and Princeton had even won the championships, but the gap has closed over the years with Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale much closer now.

The tournament will be played over three days with one round per day. It will begin on Friday, April 24.